The Canadian outerwear brand inspired by your favourite horror films

Published on 07 February 2018

It’s 10.30pm in a roadside motel just outside of Toronto. Stalking the hallways is like walking straight into The Shining, half expecting Jack Nicholson to pop out any moment. At one point I stumble across a red-tinged swimming pool. And, wait; is that a guy screaming in the background? No, this isn’t a freaky feature film set, but rather a shoot for Moose Knuckles’ AW18 campaign. If you’re not familiar, the Montreal-born premier outerwear label has been gaining buzz with cool-girl clientele including Jazzelle Zanaughtti (AKA @uglygirlworldwide) to Slick Woods and, often, a tongue-in-cheek branding ethos.

For its winter 18/19 showcase MK tapped rising creatives in Toronto – including photographer Othello Grey, stylist Bobby Bowen and film collective Kid.Studio – to create “a trailer for a [horror] movie that will never come out.” At a time when the genre is being rejuvenated for the next-gen – Get Out, It and Scream Queens amongst the biggest releases last year – it makes sense. Amongst the chaos (you can watch the full campaign below), Hunger caught up with Moose Knuckles’ creative director Steph Hoff, to talk titillation, the power of Instagram and why she doesn’t give a f**k…

Moose Knuckles AW18/19

Hey Steph! Talk me through the concept behind the Moose Knuckles AW18/19 campaign – have you always been a fan of horror?

I’m a massive horror fan – my older sisters were really into The Omen and Friday the 13th and all the Halloween movies. I grew up watching that and all the 80s slasher films – I’m for sure polluted because of it [laughs]. It evolved later – a little more art house and sophisticated – getting into films from Dario Argento and Kenneth Anger. This year [2017] highest grossing year for horror ever which is super exciting. It felt appropriate for our AW18/19 campaign.

The first scene we shot this girl in her bed and she’s in a nightgown and when I was watching it on the monitor I was like ‘this reminds me of Jennifer Connelly in [the 1984 film] Phenomena. For this campaign we’re working with collective Kid.Studio – I’m really into making trailers for movies that will never come out. So this is what we’re making! It’s going to be so camp.

Typically we have a women’s fit and men’s fit but the styles are transferrable. Girls wear guys clothes now and vice versa. 21 Savage got memed throughout the internet wearing one of our jackets and he’s wearing a women’s coat – we’re like ‘you’re so cool!’

You’re working with a team of emerging creatives from Toronto right now. It seems like the next big creative capital to watch…

Canada is only 150 years old, so this whole country is built off new Canadians. So it’s always been very racially diverse, you have untapped natural resources and endless beauty. We always knew it was cool – we’ve always had an amazing creative community. Awesome music. It’s always been really insular here and no-one knew about it. Now it’s like finally people are looking in and like how you we mine this city for everything it has right now? People are so hungry for it too.

What’s so exciting is that young people here know that they can make it. And no-one ever felt that way. Ask me in the 90s if I was going to have a job in fashion or if anyone was going to be a hit recording artist I would have been like there’s no way – there’s no way out of Canada. Now, it’s like you don’t even need to leave Canada to be successful. You can just stay right here.

Moose Knuckles AW18/19

Instagram has definitely helped open up fashion more.

Definitely! We as a brand have this ‘Sunshine Girl’ series where we show a lot of love and recognition for these girls who are just killing it on Instagram. I’m excited about that side of the internet and also young creative guys too – like Othello Grey – who have made a legit photography career after becoming famous on Instagram.

What’s the sartorial scene like – more broadly – in Toronto? How’s it different from any other fashion capital like New York?

We’re taking chances. I think it’s about opulence – it’s about freedom and living to the maximum and enjoying our youth. That’s the ethos I really want to bring to the brand. It’s 120% all the f**king time.

What does your day-to-day uniform look like?

I wear like all of my hard-core punk tees, plaid trousers, classic chucks and creepers.

Your personal style is quite grunge-inspired. Is that something you wanted to bring to the brand?

The DNA of the brand has always been very candid, very sexy, over the top and ridiculous; that’s the stuff I gravitated to. I love punk and I grew up in the punk scene. I love rap now too – like Chief Keef and Lil Uzi Vert. I’m into all of that. I think that rebellious, anarchist, angsty vibe I brought that to the brand for sure. I feel like when there’s a lot of gratuitous nudity and sexiness [and] there’s a man behind it there’s a lot of misogyny but I’m the female behind it – I’m like ‘do whatever you need to do as a woman!’ I don’t show off my body but other women that do I’m like “f**k yes!”